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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. net — in sport
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. ground — crushed
  5. date — the fruit
  6. shower — to wash
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. ground — a position
  11. bound — tied together
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bound — certain
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. net — for catching
  17. ground — the earth
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. shower — rain
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. net — after costs
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bound — obliged

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com